


The Constellation of Crawly

by jamgrl



Series: An Angel's Demon [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Angst, Astronomy, Attraction, Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Crowley Has Long Hair (Good Omens), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Historical, Historical References, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), M/M, Mesopotamia, POV Aziraphale (Good Omens), Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 22:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19385755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamgrl/pseuds/jamgrl
Summary: It is only Aziraphale's second encounter with the demon, Crawly, who approaches him, one thousand years after they last spoke at the garden, this time in Mesopotamia. This story explores the beginnings of the connection and relationship of these two characters, with Aziraphale struggling to understand what has him so enthralled by a particular infernal presence. This directly encompasses/follows the Mesopotamia scene in the 3rd TV episode's cold open.---"He felt he could see how this could have once been an angel... but there was something different about him that Aziraphale couldn’t place– like a specific sort of energy. Whatever it was felt magnetic... Aziraphale shook off the feeling. It must have been the vices radiating off of him. Demonic wiles, indeed."





	The Constellation of Crawly

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the tv universe pretty much entirely, but some of the dialogue style is inspired by the book.
> 
> This is not explicitly romantic, so readers may read it as they like!
> 
> This was, honest to God, inspired by David's flowing locks in this scene. If you are curious, I have shared my feelings on this particular look here on my [ tumblr page](https://jammintwamp.tumblr.com/post/185841629618/i-am-obsessed-with-crowleys-mesopotamia-hair#notes)

**Mesopotamia 3004 BC**

Aziraphale was standing in the desert in a crowd of people as Noah and his family gathered animals for the ark. It was rather unpleasant to think of God wiping out all these people, but who was he to question ineffability?

It was late in the afternoon. He had been standing there for hours in the heat, watching the scene take place in dismay, when he heard his name in a familiar voice. It was the demon, Crawly. 

Aziraphale remembered him from the garden. After his demonic temptation in serpent form, he had appeared to Aziraphale on the wall. At first, Aziraphale was too busy fretting about Adam and Eve and his flaming sword to take much notice of him. But then the demon was friendly (perhaps overly so) and kind– not something the angel would have expected from a demon. When Aziraphale took a moment to look at him, he was surprised to see his wings, black as night, and his serpentine yellow eyes- Aziraphale had never seen a demon before- but he was even more surprised to see how beautiful he was. It wasn’t what he expected a demon to look like, with beautiful fiery red curls falling gently off his head and down his neck, lightly brushing his back. Aziraphale wondered if his hair had been burned that color by hellfire when he fell.

Then the demon was flustering the angel with his comments and questions and Aziraphale thought maybe that was a part of his demonic temptation: making him confused so he would fall, too. And then, smiling goofily, trembling in the rain and accepting Aziraphale’s wing for cover– what was he playing at? No, Aziraphale took his role as Earth Protector seriously and would not let some demon get in the way.

That was the last time he had seen him.

When he saw Crawly now, he was shocked again by his beauty. His hair was in loose waves, part of it gently braided. There was something a touch more casual about it now, the way that it fell, the way that it blew lightly around his face. Aziraphale vaguely wondered how a demon could look so radiant. Now Crawly was asking questions again. The very same questions on Aziraphale’s mind. This threw him into a bit of an internal panic. It worried him that he was thinking like a demon. Surely the Almighty had a reason for all this. When the rain started, Crawly spoke again.

“Well, no reason to stay here now. Not sure I want to stick around for the drowning. Anyways, I suspect it will be rather wet and unpleasant here for a while.”

“Oh, yes. I believe the Almighty is planning for the rains to last forty days and forty nights.”

“Well that’s very specific.”

There was a beat while the rain continued to fall.

“I was thinking I might go and see Stonehenge. Care to join me?” the demon continued.

“ _Join_ you?” Aziraphale’s was shocked and taken aback by such a request.

“What? Were you planning on staying here and swimming around?”

“Well, no, but—"

“Important, angelic plans, then?”

“Well, I—" Aziraphale sputtered, struggling to come up with a suitable excuse. He couldn’t be _rude_ , after all. Even if it was to a demon.

“Come _on_ , Angel. You clearly haven’t got anything better to do. Think of it as catching up with an old enemy.”

Aziraphale’s was very suspicious of the demon. It occurred to him, though, that if he could learn about any of the demon’s plans, he may be able to foil them. It was risky, going somewhere with a demon, succumbing to his wiles. Maybe it was his feeling of righteousness, but Aziraphale was not afraid.

“I suppose there is no harm in that,” Aziraphale finally replied.

With that, the demon Crawly snapped his fingers and, in a flash, they were in a grassy field, the air cool and crisp. It would have been a relief from the desert they had just been in had the earth not been spinning around Aziraphale’s head.

“Do you need to sit?”

“Yes, rather,” Aziraphale weakly replied, collapsing on the soft bed of grass and rubbing circles into his temples.

“We’ve got a fine view here, anyways,” said Crawly, nimbly and gracefully seating himself next to Aziraphale. Aziraphale looked at him curiously. He felt he could see how this could have once been an angel... but there was something different about him that Aziraphale couldn’t place– like a specific sort of energy. Whatever it was felt magnetic... Aziraphale shook off the feeling. It must have been the vices radiating off of him. Demonic wiles, indeed.

“What do you reckon it’s for?” Crawly asked, staring at the stone circle that could just be made out on the horizon through a thin layer of fog.

“What, Stonehenge? Um, burial of some sort, I _think_.”

“Hm.”

Aziraphale managed to steady himself and clear his vision enough to make out the stones in the distance. It was incredible to see something so magnificent that was created by humans, without even a little bit of divine intervention.

“Have you been on earth all this time?” Aziraphale asked casually, internally kicking himself for not thinking to pay more attention to infernal presences.

“Yes. It’s my post. I’m supposed to stir things up a bit, perform a temptation here and there.” He said it very matter-of-factly, as if he were talking about run of the mill activities, like going to the market once in a while. “You?”

“Yes. I am the Protector of the Earth. Meant to watch over the humans, performing miracles and blessings, spreading peace and tranquility.” He had said this rather pompously.

“How very angelic.”

“Well, that _is_ the point,” Aziraphale replied, indignantly.

“Sounds dreadfully boring to me. Still, glad I spotted you. Haven’t had any decent company in a thousand years.” Aziraphale gave him a suspicious side glance at this. They remained silent for a while, staring out at the stones as the sun began to inch its way to the horizon.

“Impressive, what these humans come up with on their own,” Crawly said. Aziraphale had to admit he agreed.

“Yes. They are capable of extraordinary feats, humans. Of love, and justice, and compassion.”

“Yeah, extraordinary feats of greed and lust and selfishness, too. Makes my job easy, I’ll say that.”

Aziraphale scowled. “You would find a way to see the worst in people.”

“Who says it’s the worst? Humans are very creative. That’s more than I can say for most demons.”

“Well for my part, I would rather celebrate when they are creative for _good_ reasons.”

“Well, but who’s to say what’s a good or bad reason?”

“ _We_ are! That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”

“So, we’re a team, then?”

“No!” Aziraphale’s was affronted by even an insinuation that he was working alongside a demon. “Absolutely not!”

Crawly shrugged his shoulders indifferently. He picked up a small pebble and tossed it idly. Aziraphale watched as it bounced a few times before settling in the grass. Then Crawly stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back, propping himself up on his forearms, his feet just crossed at his ankles. There was an effortless sort of elegance about him in the way he held his body. Like he was weightless.

Aziraphale felt the exhaustion of the day come over him and he succumbed to it, laying back on the soft grass. If the demon had wily plans for the angel, now he was making himself extra vulnerable. But the demon’s show of general indifference made Aziraphale less concerned.

He had to admit it was a bit nice sharing the company of another immortal being. Not just any immortal being, either, but one who had been on earth with humans just as long as himself. Aziraphale didn’t see the other angels much, but each time he did, he felt more and more distanced from them.

When the sky was fully dark and the stars were gleaming, the demon Crawly repositioned himself and laid back on the grass so that he was laying in the opposite direction of Aziraphale, but with his head directly next to the angel’s. This put Aziraphale on high alert. He slowly turned his head to get a better look at the demon. His fiery hair was splayed out around him, mingling with the blades of grass. Aziraphale noticed for the first time what appeared to be a snake tattoo on the demon’s face. They were so close Aziraphale could see the fine details of it. It was enrapturing, in a sort of eerie way. Aziraphale then focused on the demon’s expression. He was staring at the night sky, almost – could it be? – dreamily. This was not at all what Aziraphale thought demons would be like.

“D’you help make any of them?”

“What?” The question caught Aziraphale off guard. He didn’t know to what the demon was referring.

“The stars. Or the, y’know, the other sparkly space things. Celestial bodies, I s’pose.” 

“Oh. No, that wasn’t my department.”

“I did,” Crawly said wistfully. “I helped make a nebula. You can’t see it from here.”

This new insight surprised and softened Aziraphale. That must have been before. When Crawly was still– well, he probably had another name then. Aziraphale hated to acknowledge that he had been jealous of the angels that had gotten to help with creation, but he had. It was very unbecoming of an angel, of course. But he didn’t complain about his lot and as a reward he got to experience living in creation firsthand. It was all part of the Almighty’s immensurable grace. Still, Angel Crawly has been very lucky, indeed. It surprised Aziraphale that an angel with that kind of status would give everything up.

“Do you miss it?” Aziraphale asked, softly.

“What?”

“Heaven? Being an angel?”

“Nah. After the creation bit, it all became rather dull.”

“Why- er, excuse me for asking,” Aziraphale was a little embarrassed to be coming forth with such a personal question, but the demon _had_ been quite forward already and Aziraphale was trying to puzzle out this mystery of a being before him, and so he continued on, albeit hesitantly. “Why did you– well—" but Aziraphale couldn’t quite bring himself to say it.

“Fall?”

“Yes.”

“Asking too many questions, I s’pose. I wasn’t satisfied with every answer being ‘the ineffable plan’.” He said those last three words in a mocking voice.

Aziraphale blushed, remembering giving that answer himself.

“You do ask a lot of questions,” he conceded.

There was silence for a little bit.

“Aren’t you ever doubtful?” the demon asked, picking up the conversation again.

Aziraphale’s didn’t answer. He was embarrassed to say that, yes, he was. Quite often. And he often second guessed his own decisions or interpretations of the plan. But he could never admit to any of that. Crawly didn’t push it, though. Instead they both gazed at the night sky together, watching as the stars shifted position in the night.

They spoke occasionally. About different places in the world they had seen, different foods or drinks they had tried, each reveling in the human experience. Crawly pointed out different constellations and Aziraphale tried his best to pick them out among the countless dancing stars. It felt natural to lay there like this, talking in this way. Aziraphale almost forgot it was a demon whose company he shared.

The morning light came too soon.

“Well, I s’pose I best be off,” Crawly said, once the sun was fully over the horizon, sitting up and brushing grass off himself. “Some minor temptations to perform, you understand.”

Aziraphale rolled on his side to face Crawly, laying his head on his arm, not wanting to leave just yet. He watched the demon carefully. Crawly wasn’t making any moves to leave, either. They remained in this position for a while, Crawly looking forward, thoughtful, maybe? He finally got up and offered his hand to the angel. He clasped Aziraphale’s outstretched arm to pull him up. Their arms lingered there for a moment, clasped together, once Aziraphale was standing. “Glad I ran into you, Angel.” Crawly said, before letting go of Aziraphale’s arm. He turned and began sauntering off, calling behind him “maybe we can do this again, sometime!”

Aziraphale watched Crawly until he disappeared.

A wave of shame cascaded over him as he realized what he had done– an entire night in the company of a demon? He couldn’t believe himself for doing such an outrageous and foolish thing.

Even more so, though, he couldn’t believe how much he regretted their parting.

He hoped next time it would be sooner than a thousand years that he saw the demon Crawly again.

**Author's Note:**

> Does anybody know if David actually grew his hair long for the historical scenes? I know he actually dyed his hair. This is a burning question in my heart. (I am actually meeting him for a photo-op at a con next month and I really hope I get to ask him this. I will share the info if I get it.)*
> 
> *Update, after extensive googling, I found out it is in fact wigs, which really does make the most sense, I just had a hope. I didn’t get to ask David anything because the photo op was so quick, but he had such a kind face and just seemed really happy to be taking the photos even on his 4th day of doing it! Sufficiently star struck 🤩.
> 
> If you like Aziraphale POV and you are a romantic A/C shipper, you may enjoy my post-cannon fic [ The Right Thing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19325983/chapters/45971356)


End file.
